Fluoride is Good For You, We Mean Bad for You

Putting fluoride in drinking water is all good, right? Let’s hope so. It’s been all but standard American policy for 50 years. But new research is pushing Uncle Sam to brush up his policy a bit.

According to the report from Centers for Disease Control, 2 out of 5 adolescents have tooth streaking or spottiness because of too much fluoride. In some extreme cases, teeth can even be pitted by the mineral — though many cases are so mild only dentists notice it. Young teens seem especially affected.

Fluoridation has been fought for decades by people who worried about its effects, including conspiracy theorists who feared it was a plot to make people submissive to government power.